general & O & E Liability

[Michael Larson]

Originally Posted by Scott Schultz

michael,

not sure of your point in relation to my quote

You seemed to be complaining about "excess" oil company profits. Here is some more interesting reading.

How do oil profits compare with those of other industries

[Scott Schultz]

sounds like it doesn't bother you that these companies...oil, healthcare, etc...are making millions of dollars in profit and continue to keep the premiums/prices high. No company should be able to make 10 billion dollars in PROFIT, not REVENUE, PROFIT, and not have to answer in a form of rebate/refund to consumers. I'm talking about after all expenses are paid and they still have this money left. that's ridiculous.

[Scott Schultz]

i guess you have to take those figures for what they're worth considering it was written by an oil company. If you look at a study done by a healthcare company, i'm sure they will skew things so that there millions of dollars of profits will be made to look like they just squeaked by.

[Michael Larson]

Originally Posted by Scott Schultz

sounds like it doesn't bother you that these companies......

I don't enjoy paying over $3 a gallon anymore than you do.
But if you going to claim they make too much money the question is compared to who or what?
They simply don't set the market price for a barrel of crude.

[jgroves]

So Scott, do you price your services to make a profit or to make just enough money to cover your business costs and personal living costs? And if you make too much profit, do you contact all your clients and distribute their rebate evenly or proportionally based on the rate of their inspection? ALL commercial companies are organized for one main reason - to make money. Additionally, those profits from the large companies belong to the stockholders who actually own the company.

Do I like current prices? Hell no. But until we finally tell the enviro whackjobs (most of whom are really socialists in sheep's clothing) to go to the dickens, and start to build new refineries, drill for our own oil, etc, etc, gas prices will remain high.

[Scott Schultz]

Originally Posted by jgroves

So Scott, do you price your services to make a profit or to make just enough money to cover your business costs and personal living costs? And if you make too much profit, do you contact all your clients and distribute their rebate evenly or proportionally based on the rate of their inspection? ALL commercial companies are organized for one main reason - to make money. Additionally, those profits from the large companies belong to the stockholders who actually own the company.

Do I like current prices? Hell no. But until we finally tell the enviro whackjobs (most of whom are really socialists in sheep's clothing) to go to the dickens, and start to build new refineries, drill for our own oil, etc, etc, gas prices will remain high.

The money I make from my inspections pays my salary and expenses. There is nothing left over. How do you justify companies having millions in profit AFTER expenses, salaries, etc..are paid and then raising premiums year after year.It's not unheard of for insurance companies to refund some of their windfall to their customers. You can't compare a one man inspection business to an exxon/mobil or aetna healthcare.

[Michael Larson]

Originally Posted by Scott Schultz

The money I make from my inspections pays my salary and expenses. There is nothing left over. How do you justify companies having millions in profit AFTER expenses, salaries, etc..are paid and then raising premiums year after year.It's not unheard of for insurance companies to refund some of their windfall to their customers. You can't compare a one man inspection business to an exxon/mobil or aetna healthcare.

So Scott, who should decide how much profit is fair.
I'll bet your return on investment is much larger than Exxon's or BP or Mobile's.
Should your customers demand a refund?

[Michael Larson]

Originally Posted by jgroves

So Scott, do you price your services to make a profit or to make just enough money to cover your business costs and personal living costs? And if you make too much profit, do you contact all your clients and distribute their rebate evenly or proportionally based on the rate of their inspection? ALL commercial companies are organized for one main reason - to make money. Additionally, those profits from the large companies belong to the stockholders who actually own the company.

Do I like current prices? Hell no. But until we finally tell the enviro whackjobs (most of whom are really socialists in sheep's clothing) to go to the dickens, and start to build new refineries, drill for our own oil, etc, etc, gas prices will remain high.

James, please stop it. Your making too much sence and will confuse a lot of people.

[jgroves]

The money I make from my inspections pays my salary and expenses. There is nothing left over. How do you justify companies having millions in profit AFTER expenses, salaries, etc..are paid and then raising premiums year after year.It's not unheard of for insurance companies to refund some of their windfall to their customers. You can't compare a one man inspection business to an exxon/mobil or aetna healthcare.

I can easily justify it - Where do you think the money comes from that they pay out in claims? Don't you realize that a lot of what they makes is put into reserves so they CAN pay claims? Where do you think Exxon gets the money from for new exploration and drilling new oil fields? Besides, what right do you have to determine what someone else makes? What special insight do you have or claim? You need to take some business course, because if you are just breaking even, you are eventually going to go out of business.

I have another question for you. Do you think the government should sieze these profits?

I am not trying to insult or berate you, but don't get caught up in populist rhetoric. If companies didn't make profits, you wouldn't have a job nor would we have an economy. Its all interdependent - we are all in this together.

[dharris]

FYI, FREA has not raised rates since September of '05. Nor do we individually penalize an inspector for claims as far as rates go.

No... FREA has not raised rates.. they just took the discount away from experienced inspectors,the same inspectors that supported your company for years and earned a discount or no deductible policy by not having any claims, the same inspectors that are ,and were able to provide documentation of their exp. and training, then your company turned around and offered inspectors that pay Nickey 375.00 for a phoney non-verified marketing title, a no ded policy..

I'm not sure what carrier/provider is charging $3,000 with a $2500 deductible, I certainly would not buy that. Too much exposure with a high deductible like that.

Gee Ben..sounds like FREA is getting a little desperate by sending you on this and other message boards to round up business, now your bashing other ins. company's to get new customers on this site as well

Whats happening, are you loosing experienced inspectors? the latest I heard they are dropping out like flys every month since your company decided last year your market is going after certified master inspectors.
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[Scott Schultz]

Who does decide how much profit is fair? don't think we'll ever have that calculation. All I am saying is that when you look at the oil companies and their millions to billions of dollars of profits and gas is $3/gal. Look at the health ins. companies who record record profits year after year and 30% of us citizens are not insured cause they can't afford the premiums. ($1000+/month for family coverage?!) This makes sense to you? Again, you can't compare a one man inspection co. to these big corporations. People elect to have a home inspection, it is a one time expense and if they can't afford it, they don't have to do it. People need gas for their cars, people need health insurance for their familes.

[Scott Schultz]

james,

i am not talking about revenue which i think you might be referring to. i am talking about money left over after ALL expenses are paid, including funding mandatory reserves.

[Scott Schultz]

unfortunately, i don't know if there will be a solution to this. I am not saying that companies are not allowed to make profits, i am saying that something doesn't seem right when they are making hundreds of millions in profits and the consumers are struggling to make payments or are feeling it when they have to pay $50 to fill their tank up.

[whandley]

Originally Posted by Scott Schultz

the problem with private companies is that they can charge whatever they want to. The problem is that when these companies make millions of dollars in PROFIT, how much of it is refunded back to the customer? Take exxon/mobil for example....10 billion is profits and how much are we paying for gas? The thing with insurance is that you usually pay too much, then when you file a claim, the ins. co. RAISES your premium! How about those claim-free years where the premium was paid and no claim was filed...where was the partial refund?
You say that FREA does not penalize for claims. does that mean that you penalize for a claim made or you don't penalize even though you have to pay either on settlement or judgement

Hey Scott;

Insurance companies are "For Profit" and normally successful. They're not in business to give back money. Supply and demand dictates the premiums in their business and the inspection fees in ours.

Millions of Americans own stocks in various insurance companies, I be one of them

[Ben L. Garrison]

I don't take these things personally. Selling insurance is not the most glamorous profession so anyone who DOES take it personally is in the wrong profession. These message boards can be amusing at times. What started off as question about E&O insurance manifested into a philosophical debate over the concept of insurance. This typically happens when this topic pops up regardless of the inquiry.

I see both sides of it. Keep in mind, I'm a consumer too. I buy health, life, auto, etc., etc. With my health insurance, I have not filed a claim in 2 years yet my premium goes up about 12% each year. That's the "trend" and I've come to accept that. Auto, same thing. KNOCK ON WOOD!

With E&O, our rates are the same across the board for every inspector. No individual rates are raised on the basis of claims. Rates are determined by claims experience across the industry.